Education watchdog blasts Hoboken school district for pre-K wait list

Dr. Mark Toback,superintendent of the Hoboken School District, is under fire over Board of Education Decision to put pre-K students on a waiting list.Katie Colaneri/The Jersey Journal

HOBOKEN – Despite the state mandate that requires the Hoboken Public Schools to provide free pre-kindergarten classes for every 3- and 4-year-old in the city, dozens of parents have received letters saying they have been placed on a waiting list.

"That's shocking," said Sharon Krengel, spokeswoman for the Education Law Center in Newark, a group that advocates for school funding and equal educational opportunities for all students.

By law Hoboken -- one of 31 so-called "Abbott" district schools that receive special state funding -- must provide pre-K classes for all eligible 3- and 4-year-olds, Department of Education spokesman Michael Yaple said.

"A Supreme Court ruling made it clear there can be no waiting lists," said David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center. "If additional parents want their children to attend pre-school, funding and space must be provided to accommodate the children, otherwise their rights to attend the program are being violated."

Roughly 70 students were put on a waiting list earlier this month after being registered for placement, school officials said.

Asked why students are being placed on a waiting list, Hoboken Superintendent of Schools Mark Toback, in an emailed response, would not concede that it is the district's obligation to place every student.

Instead, he said the issue was being debated by the Education Law Center and state DOE, which is not the case.

"At this time, the NJDOE has provided the funding to operate the number of PK classes we are running," Toback followed. "Again, it is a grant we receive and we work within the parameters of the grant and the facilities we have available. I cannot speak for the NJDOE and I think this issue would be best for them to address."

The district has funding to place 720 pre-K students this year, 15 more than last year, Toback said.

To accommodate the children, the school district has to find 48 first-floor classrooms for pre-schoolers, who must be placed below the second floor, he said.

"Every school district has limits on the number of first floor classrooms available. This is especially true in urban areas where schools are built up and not out," Toback said. "Even if we received funding for an additional 100 students, facility requirements for pre-K would make it difficult if not impossible to place every child."

The waiting list letters have created a stir on the Hoboken Moms website, a site that caters to the young mothers of the Mile Square City.

One mom posted, "Did anyone else get rejected for public pre-K 3?"

Another mom responded, incredulously, "You can be rejected from public pre-K 3? Would love some info about this if anyone has!" Another mother asserted there is no guarantee for placement.

Yaple said the DOE is "conversations with the district to help them reach full enrollment" regarding the pre-K students.

Yaple said he couldn't provide specifics about what was being discussed except to say the district may "proactively reach out to families to see if they will be utilizing their preschool placement."

Sciarra said the state has to provide whatever funding is necessary to carry out the job.

"The state is ultimately responsible to provide the funding, including facilities, and temporary facilities if necessary, for every child that applies," Sciarra said. "The district needs to go the state and provide state with information on how many additional children need to be seated. This is a state-funded program and additional resources might be necessary to meet that need."